the secret to being cool

I don't claim to be the gatekeeper of Cool. Really, Coolness can't be fenced in, and neither could Bugs Bunny who is arguably the Coolest cartoon character of all times.

I am claiming to have insight, so consider me your Coolness Liaison (maybe you consider that the same as being the gatekeeper, if so, disregard the first sentence).

Lets not go overboard and think of the Cool that I'm referring to as sauntering into every room, hair slicked back, ciggy bobbing from your lips James Dean style. What I think of when I use Cool is the "comfortable in your own skin-takes a lot to be embarrassed or have an awkward moment about yourself" kind of Cool. The easy, breezy kind of smooth that no one notices at the time, yet later as they think of you in passing stop for a second, nod their head to some silent beat and smirk that you are one Cool cat.

If you just moved closer to the computer screen then I'm assuming that's the kind of Cool you are looking for. The way you get it is by being you. Simple enough. Actually to cut it into smaller bites, really just--be, period.

Track with me for a second: the opposite of Cool is awkward and awkwardness comes when there is large amounts of undo pressure on a situation, pressure usually arises when someone is trying too hard therefore if you try too hard to be cool you will fail.
That's the mistake most kids make. They calculate what to say and how to say it in order to come off sounding cool but their mistake is made before the awkwardness comes barreling out of their mouth--their first mistake was to calculate. If you are simply yourself you don't have to "come up" with things that try and make you sound cool, you just are.

I actually have a scripture to back me up on this. Luke 14:11, "But if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

Coolness can ooze from your pores if you allow yourself to relax in who you are.
And the benefit to that is, once you've got that down you become an even better person just like that verse says.

Just be. It's even simplier then Nike thought.

"what good is being cool if you can't wear a sombrero?"
-calvin and hobbes